Southland carbon offset project may have overestimated the effect of logging
Consumers who drank zero carbon Garage Project beer or Otis Oat Milk might have thought their beverage was saving the planet, but theres evidence the exact benefits are questionable. The companies are two of many purchasing a type of carbon offset earned when a forest owner promises not to cut down their trees . Protecting forests is a valuable exercise. But based on government information, Stuff found one New Zealand scheme selling the offsets may have overestimated the effect of logging if it wasnt protecting the forest. The offsets are of a type called avoided deforestation which means landowners who could make money from felling trees (releasing carbon) instead sell offsets. Although protecting trees is undoubtedly good, this kind of product has been under scrutiny internationally because its tough to determine who had genuine plans to fell forest, and how many trees would have been lost without the cash. Credits bought by Garage Project in 2019 and Otis came from a Southland-based project, run by environmental company Ekos which asked the owner of a regenerating forest to stop harvesting trees in exchange for carbon credits. Although the law prohibits clear-felling native forest, landowners are allowed to selectively harvest species such as beech and rimu. The offset revenue helps the Southland forest owners to pay for pest control and develops local employment. In project documents , Ekos claimed that without its offsets, Southlands Rarakau forest would have essentially stopped growing. The company states commercial logging arrest[s] the process of natural succession. However, information from the Ministry for Primary Industries which oversees and does field audits on harvested forests, including Rarakau before logging stopped challenges that claim. Only a limited amount of timber can be taken, a ministry official told Stuff . Each year, a regenerating forest should produce more wood than is allowed to be removed, meaning that even selectively harvested forests should continue to grow and suck in carbon. The normal behaviour of harvested forest matters, because carbon offsets should only be issued for the difference they are making. Ekos founder Sean Weaver disputes that he has overstated the projects impact. Even if the maths on logging is wrong, he said, the issue can be fixed. When asked, Weaver didnt provide any data showing that the Rarakau land or sustainably harvested forests entered a state of arrested development. You use the data available at the time. If theres no data, then you have to use some kind of proxy. So thats what we did. Indigenous forestry manager Alastair Kernahan, who works for Te Uru Rakau with the Ministry for Primary Industries, said a regenerating forest will keep growing every year even with selective harvests. Each forest has a set limit on the amount of timber that can be harvested. The cap is less than the total annual growth of the whole forest, Kernahan said. Stuff presented this evidence to Weaver, who denied that hed done anything wrong, but agreed this is a valid issue. Prior to the projects start in 2014, Weaver said he consulted what is now the Ministry for Primary Industries. He also worked with then-Landcare Research scientist Ian Payton. In a statement shared with Stuff by Weaver, Payton said an arrested forest was a logical starting point. But when further data became available, that may need to be adjusted, he added. Weaver said he took the process very seriously and very conservatively. He said Ekos had already started to gather data for a review of the project. The issues raised by Stuff would be considered as part of this. In one of several responses sent to Stuff , he shared a number of reasons why he believed the project didnt sell too many offsets. For example, the scheme keeps 20% of credits in reserve. Weaver said this could accommodate adjustments for issues like the one Stuff raised. If the reserve isnt big enough, Weaver said the scheme could sell fewer offsets in the future. Corrections are always backdated, he added. Im not a crook, Weaver said in an interview. Ekos carbon credits are certified by Plan Vivo, an independent body. Its a rigorous process, Weaver said, and Ekos followed best practice. If youre going to buy some eggs from the supermarket, and it says theyre organic... the farmer should say: Dont challenge me. Go take it up with the auditor. Because Im doing the best I can. Plan Vivos chief executive Keith Bohannon said its in-house technical advisers and external experts reviewed Ekos project. The auditor who undertook the final quality assurance tests holds a PhD in forest carbon accounting. Plan Vivos rules did not require Ekos to collect evidence from other selectively harvested forests to substantiate its claim that the Rarakau forests growth would be arrested under selective logging, Bohannon said because it was not possible to get an appropriate comparison. While we welcome constructive external scrutiny and are very open to working with others to look at ways to improve the way we work, we are also confident that all projects certified under Plan Vivo are delivering real, additional and verifiable climate impact. Weaver said he was confident the Rarakau project has a small but positive benefit to the environment. Ekos also works with businesses such as Garage Project and Otis Oat Milk to measure the companies footprints and reduce their emissions not just offset them. In 2019, Garage Project purchased offsets from Rarakau as part of its certification as a Zero Carbon business, said co-founder Jos Ruffell. Since then, the company has purchased a proportion of its offsets from other avoided deforestation projects, including protected forest in Papau New Guinea. It also supports regenerating bush in Tasman. The company works closely with Ekos on certification, he added. Ekos are satisfied that their systems are robust. Otis Oat Milk did not respond to Stuff s query. The forest owner, the Rowallan Alton Incorporation, uses its share of the revenue to fund pest control, develop its farming business and train young people. The organisation also plants and protects native trees with the help of the regional council. In another statement provided by Ekos, Rowallan Alton Incorporation chairperson Harold Thomas said the offsets provided a valuable source of income. The carbon credits project has been helping us build a future for our people and it is great that we can also be climate champions at the same time, Thomas said. The level of effort involved to do this properly is an order of magnitude more onerous than what was required to log the forest, but Ekos persevered with this to the benefit of this project. Clarification: This story has been updated to more prominently reflect that Garage Project no longer buys Rarakau forest offsets, and that the company has since purchased other avoided deforestation offsets to support its Zero Carbon claims. (Article updated May 9, 1pm.) Our weekly email newsletter, by the Forever Project's Olivia Wannan, rounds up the latest climate events. Sign up here .